Drawer pull and latch and label holder



Nov. 16, 1965 F. G. STARK DRAWER PULL AND LATCH AND LABEL HOLDER Filed March 4. 1964 u u n l n 2.5:: 1 H

I NVENTOR.

FOREST G. STARK A TTORNEYS United States Patent 3,218,112 DRAWER PULL AND LATCH AND LABEL HOLDER Forest G. Stark, Jamestown, N.Y., assignor to Art Metal, Inc., Jamestown, N .Y. Filed Mar. 4, 1964, Ser. No. 349,199 10 Claims. (Cl. 312-333) This invention relates to otfice furniture or the like, and more particularly to filing cabinets and improved combination drawer pull-finger latch and label holder devices therefor.

One object of the invention is to provide an improved unitary device adapted to be attached to a drawer head plate or the like, which at the same time provides an improved drawer pull and finger-operable drawer latch control, and a drawer label holder.

Another object is to provide an improved device as aforesaid which is of such design as to be readily made of die cast or molded parts.

Another object is to provide a device as aforesaid which is of improved external appearance and which is light-weight and involves the use of a minimum of materials.

Another object is to provide a device as aforesaid which provides as a convenience to the user an improved drawer latch control drawer pull arrangement.

Another object is to provide a device as aforesaid which employs a minimum of parts and is rugged and fail proof as a latch control mechanism.

Other objects and advantages will appear from the specification hereinafter and the accompanying drawing, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a filing cabinet having a pair of drawers equipped with devices of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary section, on enlarged scale, taken as indicated by line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIGS. 3, 4, are fragmentary sectional views taken on lines 33, 44, 5-5, respectively, of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 3; and

FIGS. 7, 8 are front and rear perspective views, respectively, of the device shown apart from the cabinet.

As shown in the drawing herewith, the device of the invention comprises a unitary die cast metal frame part designated generally at 10 which includes a label holding frame portion 12 and a drawer pull pocket portion 14. To the label holding frame portion is attached in spaced relation thereto a back plate 16, as by means of screws 17 engaging lugs as indicated at 18, 19; the device being closed at the bottom as shown in FIG. 4 and being thereby adapted to receive in slip-fitted relation a label card or the like as indicated at 20. The drawer pull pocket portion 14 mounts therein the drawer latch and control mechanism as will be explained more fully hereinafter. The back plate 16 is preferably cast with spacer lugs 22 extending rearwardly therefrom and drilled and tapped lugs 25 are provided on the frame to receive screws 27 (FIG. 3) whereby to stabilize and fasten the device between the two sheet metal front panels 28, 29 making up the head plate of the drawer 30 upon which the device is to be applied. As shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 the device of the invention is preferably cast with a for wardly projecting rim 31 which slip-fits through a complementary shaped opening in the drawer front plate 28, which operates to properly locate the device and to provide a finished trim appearance.

As shown in FIGS. l-6, the drawer 36 may be carried within a cabinet casing 32 of sheet metal construction having appropriate forward-facing openings to accommodate the drawers. It will of course be understood that 3,218,112 Patented Nov. 16, 1965 the drawers will be suspended upon any suitable rail and/or roller system, as may be preferred for manual sliding in and out relative to the casing. As 'shown in FIGS. 26, the cabinet structure includes parallel top plates 34, 36 and parallel side plates 38, 39; the top plate 36 and the opposite inside plates 39, 39 defining the opening into which the drawer structure fits.

The drawer pull an dlatch and control portion of the device is substantially enclosed and defined by the framelike portion 14 thereof. At its front surface it is formed with inwardly extending flange portions 40, 40, thereby providing ledges perimetrally of the opening therethrough. Within the recess behind the upper flange 40 a latch control bar or plate 42 is disposed, and is backed up by a bowed leaf spring 44. The control plate 42 is pivotally anchored at one end in an apertured portion of the frame member, as indicated at 46 (FIG. 2), and is formed with a downwardly depending leg portion 48 which slides freely through a slot 49 (FIG. 8) in the bottom wall portion of the structure 14. At its bottom end the leg 48 carries a latch member 50 which includes a bevelled and notched nose portion for latching cooperation with a striker device formed by cutting an opening through a false front member of the cabinet side wall structure, as indicated at 52 (FIGS. 2, 5, 6).

The latch bar and the nose portion and the spring are so arranged (as shown) to cause the latch member 50 to be normally biased downwardly to the position thereof shown in FIGS. 2, 3, 5, whereby if the drawer is home in the cabinet as shown in FIGS. 1, 3, 4, the latch 50' will grip the striker edge portion of the cabinet structure at 52, so as to latch the drawer in closed position. However, simply by inserting the finger tips into the portion 14 from in front thereof and pressing upwardly therewithin the latch bar 42 will be thereby displaced upwardly against the spring 44, thus releasing the latch 50 from the casing at 52 and freeing the drawer to be pulled outwardly by substantially the same manual maneuver.

Assuming the drawer to be standing in open position relative to the cabinet, when it is desired to close the drawer it may be simply pressed inwardly without regard to manual control of the latch mechanism. When the bevelled end of the latch member 50 contacts the strike as defined by the edge portion 52 of the cabinet structure, the latch member will be thereby cammed upwardly and over the strike until it settles therebeyond under the impetus of the spring 44. Thus, the drawer will be automatically latched in closed position until such time as the latch is manually released as explained hereinabove.

Thus, it will be appreciated that by virtue of the provision of a simple yet rugged and inexpensive mechanism an improved combination drawer pull and latch control and label holder device is provided, and that although only one form of the invention has been illustrated and described in detail herein, various changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit ofthe invention or the scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. In combination with a drawer having a front panel opening adapted to be push-pulled between retracted-extended positions relative to an enclosing cabinet having a stationary strike member,

a unitary frame device of generally rectangular form fixed to said front panel within said opening and including at one end thereof a label receiving window structure and at its other end an open-through frame structure which is inwardly recessed at a side wall thereof,

a horizontal latch bar pivotally mounted at one end to,

said frame device and extending generally parallel to and within said recessed side wall portion and having an angled leg portion depending therefrom,

a compression spring disposed between said latch bar and the adjacent recessed side wall portion,

and a latch member carried by said leg portion in registry with said strike member when said drawer is moved into its closed or retracted position relative to said cabinet, said latch member being releasable from said striker upon manual displacement of said latch bar against the action of said spring.

2. A combination drawer pull and latch and label holder device for attachment to a drawer slidably mounted in an enclosing cabinet having a stationary lock strike member, said device comprising,

a frame device of generally rectangular form including at one end thereof a label receiving window portion and at its other end a front opening frame structure,

a latch bar pivotally mounted at one end to said frame device and extending generally parallel to and inside of the upper portion of said frame structure and having an angled leg portion extending therefrom,

a spring member biasing said latch bar away from the adjacent frame structure,

and a latch member carried by said leg portion in registry with said strike member when said drawer is moved into its closed position relative to said cabinet, said latch member being releasable from said strike member upon manual displacement of said latch bar against the action of said spring.

3. A combination drawer pull and latch and label holder device for attachment to a drawer slidably mounted in an enclosing cabinet having a stationary lock strike member, said device comprising,

a frame structure of generally rectangular form including at one end thereof a label receiving slide portion and at its other end a front opening pocket portion,

a latch bar pivotally mounted at one end to said frame structure and extending generally parallel to and along one inside portion of said pocket and having a leg portion extending therefrom,

a spring member biasing said latch bar away from the adjacent frame structure,

said leg portion having at its free end a cam-shaped latch portion carried in eamming and self-locking registry with said strike member when said drawer is moved into its closed position relative to said cabinet, said latch member being releasable from said strike member upon manual displacement of said latch bar against the action of said spring.

4. A combination drawer pull and latch and label holder device for attachment to a drawer slidably mounted in an enclosing cabinet having a stationary lock strike member, said device comprising,

a frame structure of generally rectangular form including at one end thereof a label receiving portion and at its other end a front opening pocket portion,

a latch bar movably mounted within said frame structure to extend generally parallel to and along one inside portion of said pocket and having a leg portion extending therefrom,

and a spring member biasing said latch bar in one direction,

said leg portion having at its free end a cam-shaped latch portion carried in camming and self-locking registry with said strike member when said drawer is moved into its closed position relative to said cabinet, said latch member being releasable from said strike member upon manual displacement of said latch bar against the action of said spring.

5. A combination drawer pull and latch and label holder device for attachment to a drawer slidably mounted in an enclosing cabinet having a stationary lock strike member, said device comprising,

a frame structure including a label receiving portion and a front opening pocket portion,

a latch bar movably mounted upon said frame structure to extend generally parallel to and along one inside portion of said pocket,

a spring member biasing said latch bar in one direction,

said latch bar having at one extending end a camshaped latch device disposed in operative registry with said strike member when said drawer is moved into its closed position relative to said cabinet, said latch member being releasable from said strike member upon manual displacement of said latch bar against the action of said spring.

e. A combination drawer pull and latch and label holder device for attachment to a drawer slidably mounted in an enclosing cabinet having a stationary lock strike member, said device comprising,

a frame structure of horizontally elongate form including at one end thereof a label receiving portion and at its other end a front opening pocket portion,

a latch bar hingedly mounted at one end upon said frame structure to extend horizontally and generally parallel to and along the upper inside portion of said pocket and having a leg portion extending downwardly from its free end portion alongside one end of said pocket and through a slot in the bottom portion thereof,

and a spring member biasing said latch bar downwardly,

said leg portion having at its extreme bottom end a cam-shaped latch device disposed in camming and self-locking registry with said strike member when said drawer is moved into its closed position relative to said cabinet, said latch member being releasable from said strike member upon manual displacement of said latch bar upwardly against the action of said spring.

'7. In combination with a cabinet having an opening, means for supporting a drawer within said opening, and a latch striker for holding a drawer in closed condition;

a drawer received in said opening of the cabinet and having a front panel provided with an opening,

a drawer pull frame fixed within the opening in said front panel of the drawer, said frame including an upper wall portion projecting rearwardly of said front panel and having a flange depending therefrom adjacent said front panel,

a latch control member having a generally horizontal leg lying in closely spaced relation below said upper wall portion of the frame behind said flange and a depending leg provided with a latch member at its lower end for engagement with said latch striker, said horizontal leg portion being disposed behind and obscured by said flange,

and a compression spring sandwiched between said horizontal leg of the latch member and said upper wall portion of the frame.

d. In a combination with a cabinet having an opening, means for supporting a drawer within said opening, and a latch striker for holding a drawer in closed condition,

a drawer received in said opening of the cabinet and having a pair of vertical front panels disposed in horizontally spaced relation, the outer of said panels being provided with an opening,

a drawer pull and latch assembly fitted between said front panels and in registry with the opening in said outer front panel of the drawer, said assembly including a frame having an upper wall portion projecting rearwardly from said outer panel into engagement with the other front panel and having a flange depending therefrom adjacent said outer panel to present a downwardly facing recess, said assembly also including a latch control member having a generally horizontal leg disposed within said recess in closely spaced relation below said upper wall of the frame and a depending leg provided with a latch member at its lower end for engagement with said striker, said horizontal leg being disposed behind and obscured by said flange, and a compression a drawer for said opening and having spaced inner and spring sandwiched between said horizontal leg of the outer front panels, said outer panel having an openlatch member and said upper wall portion of the ing, frame. a drawer pull frame fixed to and spanning between said 9. In a combination with a cabinet having an open- 5 panels, said drawer pull frame being of open recing, means for supporting a drawer within said opening, tangular construction providing upper, lower and and a latch striker for holding a drawer in closed condiopposite side walls extending between said panels tion, marginally around said opening in the outer panel, a drawer received in said opening of the cabinet and wh reby to provide a hand well between said panels,

having a pair of vertical front panels disposed in horizontally spaced relation, the outer of said panels being provided with an opening,

drawer pull and latch assembly fitted between said front panels and in registry with the opening in said outer front panel of the drawer, said assembly including a frame having an upper wall portion projecting rearwardly from said outer panel above said opening thereon into engagement with the other front panel and having a flange depending therefrom adjacent said outer panel to present a downwardly facing recess between said panels, said assembly also including a latch control member having a generally horizontal leg disposed within said recess in closely spaced relation below said upper wall of the frame said upper wall being disposed above the upper edge of said opening in the outer panel to provide a finger recess off said well,

a latch control member including a horizontal leg portion pivotally connected to one side wall adjacent the juncture thereof with said upper wall and extending therefrom behind said outer panel above the opening therein and terminating in a depending leg portion adjacent the opposite side wall, said lower wall and said opposite side wall providing a slot therebetween and said depending leg portion extending through said slot and terminating in a laterally offset latch for engagement with said striker, and a compression spring disposed between said upper wall and said horizontal leg portion to normally urge said substantially flush with the lower edge of said flange dependiflgleg P dOWnWardlY- and a depending leg provided with a latch member at its lower end for engagement with said striker,

said horizontal leg being disposed behind and ob- References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS soured by said flange, and a compression spring sand- 292,931 2/ 1884 Mack 292-228 wiched between said horizontal leg of the latch 2,221,532 11/1940 Westerheim 292--228 X member and said upper wall portion of the frame. 3,102,763 9/1963 Knoll et al. 312320 X 10. In combination with a cabinet having a frame pro- ,107,958 10/1963 Robbins 312-320 vided with an opening, means for supportinga drawer within said opening, and a latch striker on said frame adjacent said opening,

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Primary Examiner. FRANK B. SHERRY, Examiner. 

5. A COMBINATION DRAWER PULL AND LATCH AND LABEL HOLDER DEVICE FOR ATTACHMENT TO A DRAWER SLIDABLY MOUNTED IN AN ENCLOSING CABINET HAVING A STATIONARY LOCK STRIKE MEMBER, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING, A FRAME STRUCTURE INCLUDING A LABEL RECEIVING PORTION AND A FRONT OPENING POCKET PORTION, A LATCH BAR MOVABLY MOUNTED UPON SAID FRAME STRUCTURE TO EXTEND GENERALLY PARALLEL TO AND ALONG ONE INSIDE PORTION OF SAID POCKET, A SPRING MEMBER BIASING SAID LATCH BAR IN ONE DIRECTION, SAID LATCH BAR HAVING AT ONE EXTENDING END A CAMSHAPED LATCH DEVICE DISPOSED IN OPERATIVE REGISTRY WITH SAID STRIKE MEMBER WHEN SAID DRAWER IS MOVED INTO ITS CLOSED POSITION RELATIVE TO SAID CABINET, SAID LATCH MEMBER BEING RELEASABLE FROM SAID STRIKE MEMBER UPON MANUAL DISPLACEMENT OF SAID LATCH BAR AGAINST THE ACTION OF SAID SPRING. 